GEORGE TOWN: A levy of 500 baht (RM60) will “greet” Malaysians visiting Thailand from Jan 1 next year even as the kingdom is removing quarantine requirements for visitors from low-risk countries from Nov 1.

       For regular travellers to Thailand, the levy is an additional burden.

       Businessman V. Sivaji, 61, who runs news portals, said he had to travel to Pattaya every year for business as well as leisure.

       “The RM60 levy will add to my cost, and with business taking a dive this year, I’d rather spend time relaxing at the beach in Batu Ferringhi or Tanjung Bungah.

       “It is not advisable to travel immediately, anyway, as many will flock to the same destinations, creating safety and health issues. There are many places at which to unwind locally,” he said.

       Clament Chin, who has a small factory producing nuts and bolts for scaffolding, said before the pandemic, he and his friends travelled frequently to Thailand for holidays.

       “There has been quite a lull over the past year and a half, and we are looking forward to going there again, but not just yet. There is still the fear of how the pandemic will affect international travel.

       “We are still not comfortable with going abroad and would rather spend time with our families by taking a trip to the east coast.

       “The RM60 is taxing for middle-income families and people can spend the money here,” he said.

       Thailand is waiving its mandatory quarantine for fully vaccinated travellers from Nov 1, following the successful reopening of Phuket and Koh Samui to vaccinated people under pilot schemes since July.

       Tourism Authority of Thailand marketing manager Richard Lim said the sandbox model in Phuket and Koh Samui, where fully vaccinated travellers would only have to take a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test without quarantine, has proven to be successful.

       “We are confident the market will be back next year.

       “The levy of RM60 is a small sum compared to what Thailand has to offer Malaysians,” said Lim, who added Malaysia holds the second top spot after China, with 4.16 million having travelled to Thailand in 2019.

       Some 10 million visitors from China travelled to Thailand over the same period.

       Meanwhile, Malaysia’s Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry is ramping up promotional efforts for domestic destinations in light of the lifting of the ban on interstate travel.

       The ministry’s Penang director Jonathan Freddy P. Bagang said people should look at travelling within the country for now.

       “We are promoting Cuti-Cuti Malaysia and have other promotions as we just reopened state borders.

       “There are many places to go. No need to rush to neighbouring countries as the standard operating procedures are still vague in several countries.

       “What’s more, every Ringgit spent here will help revive the local economy,” he said.

       Tourism Malaysia northern region acting director Yoganthiran Manikam said several promotional packages were available for local travel as the ministry was aggressively encouraging domestic travel.

       “We even have packages specifically for civil servants, and the details are at www.malaysia.travel,” he added.